Britannia sits with Mercury, Plenty, other gods and cherubs, watching the scenes described by the title printed below the allegorical picture: "In the back ground is Admiral Rodney's Engagement with Count De Grasse. Washington & Rochambeau's Advantage over the English Army, shews[sic] the Injustice, Fate & Uncertainty of War. The glorious Rays from Providence over Rodney's Fleet bring Peace & Plenty to Britannia. Fame sounds her praise, Genius & Commerce make her Shine thro' the World." The picture is surrounded by a wide border of laural leaves and into which the title, "Frontispiece", appears at the top and the descriptive title cited above appears at the bottom. This allegory celebrates the irony of defeat and victory to the British forces at the end of hostilities in America. The goddess of Fame flies out of a temple toward Zeus, sitting in the clouds. She is telling him about the scene below where deities such as Commerce regard two scenes in the background. One shows the victory of Washington and Rochambeau at Yorktown, thus the defeat of the British army, balanced by Admiral Rodney's victory over De Grasse in the West Indies soon after. Viewed as an irony of history here, the second of these 1781 events led to England's eventual far better negotiating position when the allies met at the treaty tables. This frontispiece engraving is from Rapin-Thoyras, History of England, v.5, London, 1789.